Control apparatus for electrically-operated elevator signals



-.lune 24, 1930.

F. E. KALTE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRICALLY OPERATED ELEVATOR SIGNALS-2 Sheets-Sheer.

Filed June 26 1925 'l vENToR uw. um

ATTORNEY Julie 24,v 1930- `F. E. KAL'IYE 1,768,361

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICALLY OPERATED ELEVATOR SIGNALS yFiled June2e, 1925 2 sheets-sneer 2 INVENTOR F162 g@ I 4 A ORNEY Patented June 24,1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRED E. KALTE, OF LOS ANGELES,CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO RANDALL CONTROL & HYDROMETRIC CORPORATION, F LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA CONTROL APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED ELEVATORSIGNALS Application led .Tune 26,

My invention relates to means for restoring the circuits of the signaldevices which indicate the direction of the travel of an elevator carand the signals which indicate the directions that users thereof desireto go. Heretofore there have been provided switches at each floortraversed' by the elevator car which, when closed, cause the restorationof the signal circuits. These switches have 1o sometimes been closed bythe commutators,

sometimes by devices carried by the cars and sometimes by means operatedby the gates which closes the openings to the elevator shaft.

It is the object of my invention to provide a single switch which iselectrically connected to relays and the various segments of thecommutator whereby the various signals can be restored, which switch isoperated by the 2o mechanism that prevents the movement of the car. Afurther object is to provide a uick acting switch whereby arcing isreuced to a minimum.

In the drawings forming a part of this application Fig. 1 is adiagrammatic representation with arts in elevation and parts broken awayof) two elevator cars provided with the usual signaling devices andapparatus, and equipped with my improved switch.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of my improved switch and associated parts,partly diagrammatic and with parts broken away and with parts of'the carand mechanism carried thereby shown in associated relation in dottedlines.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Fig. 2, 5 and 6 are sheavesmounted in the top of the shaft over which a cable or chain 7 passes.One end of chain 7 s connected by a composite wire and rod mechanism toone end of lever 8 which is pivotally mounted on bolt 9 in the bottom ofthe elevator shaft. At each floor is a mechanism for operating this wireand rod and as all are alike only one is illustrated and described.

Thismechanism consists of a bell crank lever 10 which is pivotallymounted in the elevator shaft by bolt 11. One arm of lever 10`carries astud l2 through which passes a rod 13. Theconnection 14 between rod 131925. Serial No. 39,791.

and chain 15 at the top of the rod normally rests upon stud 12 and therod is of such length that when lever 10 is operated at any floor therods at all the other floors will reciprocate in the studs 12 of thosefloors without affecting the levers 10 of those floors. A link 16 isconnected to the other arm of lever 10 and to a lever 17 pivotallymounted at 18 on the elevator shaft. Lever 17 carries at its lower end astud 19. To lever 8 is attached a weight 2() which returns the wire toits normal position as shown in Fig. 2 after being operated as hereafterdescribed. To the other end of lever 8 is attached a wire 21 which isconnected to a rod 22. Rod 22 passes through the master switch frame 23and through the restoring switch frame '24 and is connected by wire 25to chain 7. Frame 23 carries mechanism not shown, which is wired tocontrol the movement of the car as follows:

When the operator in the car desires to stop the movement of the car hestops its movement in the usual manner. He then operates a shoe 26,shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 by means of a bar 27 which can bedepressed by a pedal, not shown, pressed upon by the foot or a lever,not shown, operated by hand, the pedal or lever being connected to thebar by a chain 27 Bar 27 is connected to bell crank levers 28 and 29 andsaid levers are pivotally mounted on the car, not shown, and are alsoconnected to shoe 26. When bar 27 is depressed shoe 26 engages stud 19and thereby causes lever 1() to raise wires and rods, 15 and 13 and atthe same time wire 21 and rod 22 are lowered through frames 23 and 24.This movement shuts off the power operating the car. The shaft door atthat landing can then be opened and passengers admitted to or dischargedfrom the car. The shaft door carries an arm 30 which, when the door isopened, passes under the outer end of lever 10 and holds it in anelevated position until the door is closed so that the car cannot bestarted until the shaft door is closed.

At each floor are push buttons for signaling that a passenger wishes ltogo up or down. These push buttons, when operated,

are insulated from the frame.

close circuits which energize the call relays. The armature of the callrelays form a part of the call sional circuits and are held in aposition to keep the call signal circuits closed by the armatures of therestoring relays.

So far I have described the car control mechanism as it relates to myrestoring mechanism which I now describe in detail. Frame 21 carriescontacts 31 and 32 which Contact 31 is connected by wire 33 (see fig. 1)to reset feed strips 34 of the commutators 35 and 36, one for each car.Contact 32 is connected by wire 37 to the release relays 1 and 2. Relays1 and 2 are connected by wires 38 to reset segments 40 and 41.

A cross head 42, in casing 24, (Fig. 2) is carried by rod 22 and isinsulated from both. On 42 is pivotally mounted fingers 43 and 44, thefree ends of which are connected by spring 45. 1When the free ends ofthese ngers are below the plane of the pivots that connect the fingersto the cross head, the fingers are held out of engagement with confacts31 and 32 which is their normal position as shown in Fig. 2. When crosshead Ll2 is lowered these fingers engage lugs 46 and L17 on casing 24and the free ends thereof are moved above the plane of the pivot-s thathold the fingers on the cross head when spring 45 pulls them quickly up.

In their uppermost position the free ends of the fingers do not quiteengage contacts 31 and 32.` but when the door is closed and arm 30 iswithdrawn from its position holding the outer end of lever 10 elevated,weight 2O on lever 8 brings down that side of wire and rods and raisesthe other side, thereby carrying the cross head upwardly and causing thefree ends of the fingers to momentarily engage contacts 31 and 32. Atthis time the reset segment of the commutator of that particular flooris connected by a brush not shown with the reset feed stri of thecommutator and the relay circuit 1s closed and the reset relay isenergized which withdraws its armature from locking the signal circuitopen and the signal circuit is restored.

Current is supplied to the device from live wires or means which lead toa main switch 51 of the usual knife type. The primary windings oftransformers 52 and 53 are connected in multiple to this switch. Thepositive terminal of transformer 52 has the wire 37 leading from theContact 32 connected thereto. A wire 541 leads from the positiveterminal of the secondary winding of the transformer 53 and is providedwith branches 55 leading each to the fixed points of a single throwdouble blade switch 56 located in a respective elevator cab or car. Ateach of these switches one fixed Contact point is connected to a lamp 57from whence a wire 58 leads to the contact segments 59 and 60 of thecommutators for the respective cars. The other fixed contact point ofthe switch 56 has a wire 61 connected there to which has the floorsignal lights 62 connected to it in multiple. lires 63 connectrespective lights 62 to respective commutator segments 64. At theseveral floors of the building are the signal push buttons 65 which areconnected in multiple by a wire 66 with the wire 37 and thus with thepositive terminal of the secondary of transformer 52. From eachrespective push button leads a wire 67 which connects with one terminalof a magnet 68 of one of the relays. The other terminals of these relaysare connected by wiring 69 with the negative terminals of the twotransformers. Adjacent each magnet 68 is a fixed contact 70 which isengaged by the armature 71 of said magnet upon the latter beingenergized and these fixed contacts are connected by wires 72 with thecommutator relay segments 73. The armatures 71 are connected to thewiring 69 in multiple with the magnets. Latches 7 2 forming armaturesfor the release magnets 73 hold the armatures 71 locked in engagementwith the respective contacts upon energization of the magnets 68 bypushing the buttons 65. These magnets 73, like the magnets 68, areconnected by the wiring 69 to the transformer negatives. Also eachmagnet 73 is connected to the segments Ll() and 41 by a wire 38 or 39andupon energization the magnets 73 release the armatures 71 and the partsreassume the normal position shown.

A rock arm 74 extends from the shaft 18 and may be operated to rock theshaft and thus move the lever 17 by a rod 75 leading to any convenientplace. Provision is thus made for operating the switch controlled by therod 22 manually when desired.

It will thus be seen that but one switch is used for operating all therestoration circuits, and that its make and break is very quick whichprevent-s objectionable arcing and that such switch is operated by themechanism that unlocks the car operating circuit that the restoration ofthe signal is not effected until the car operating circuit is incondition to be operated to cause the car to again move.

Having described my invention, I claim: l. In an elevator signalingapparatus in a building having a plurality of doors, in

combination, an elevator car; means to cause il? the stopping andstarting of said car; means to lock said car operating mea-ns againststarting the movement of the car after it stops at a floor; a signalcall circuit for each floor with signals therein; means to lock saidsignals in operative position when a signal to the car has been given; arestoration circuit having a normally open switch therein, said switchwhen closed causing the restoration circuit to unlock the call l i inoperative position; a restoration circuit having a normally open circuittherein; and means operated by the car operating locking means when saidmeans are unlocked adapted to operate the restoration circuit switch,whereby the signals are restored to normalcy. v

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 20th day of June, 1925.

FRED E. KALTE.

